In most high schools, you have those kids that if ti weren\’t for football practice eating up their time, they would be blowing things up or jumping from rooftops into the neighbor\’s pool. They\’re a little bit crazy and they usually have that wild gleam in their eyes when you look directly at them (which you try not to do because it\’s uncomfortable). Throw on a little strength plus quickness and you just found the perfect defensive lineman at prep football level. Let\’s take a look at these headhunters and find out why being a little crazy goes a long way at the line.

FIrst, what is the defensive line and what is their role? The defensive lineman are the players right up close to the action along the line. The linebackers are generally thought of as not being lineman but their heavily integrated into the lineman\’s actifvities. The defensive lineman start the play with one hand down on the ground directly aross from their offensive lineman\’s counterparts. You typically have a nose-tackle dead center across the center. 1 or two defensive ends are on the outside. Generally, there are \”slots\” along the line that the offense tries to run through on a running play and a defensive lineman\’s core responsibility during these plays is to fill these slots and avoid the offensive lineman\’s effort to block him out of the play so that a running back can get through the line. Since the offensive lineman are usually the biggest players on the team and pretty strong, you have an arms race going on at the line in terms of strength, size, and quickness with a nice blend of all three being ideal. That\’s just the base requirement for a defensive lineman but why might a coach pick a certain player for defense as opposed to offense (if they have a big enough roster to adequately fill both spots).

That\’s where a touch of crazy comes in. There\’s a certain cagey and scrappy attitude that works well with defensive lineman to make them successful. First of all, they\’re hitting almost every play and they routinely have to throw their bodies into the fray on any given run play. You can\’t shy away from punishment and last on the line in high school football. You also have to be strong both lower and upper body. Lower body is important as you hold off the opposing lineman in a virtual tug of war not to cede ground while upper body is important not only to push back against the lineman but to tackle and grapple running backs as you fend off the lineman as well. A good mind is important because you have to read what the offense is doing not only by following the action but by watching for cues and hints as to what they will do. A lineman might shift his stance if he\’s pulling or check a path if he\’s down blocking. Some players can turn off the noise and get in tune with subtle hints. It\’s like a predatory tracker who\’s intuition seems to run deeper than basic senses we all tap int.

The passing set is a whole different animal for defensive lineman. Now, it\’s time to play a little cat and mouse as the d tries to evade the offensive blockers to pressure and ideally sack the quarterback. Here, you just need quickness, subterfuge, and that wild look in your eye that says you\’ll do anything to get in backfield every single play.

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis writes about the world of Prep Sports including high school sports such as high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Category: Sports
Keywords: defensive line, high school football, prep football, high school sports, prep sports, players